Turkey Day 5 @ Cappadocia Göreme

On our fifth day of our trip in the magical land, we visited Göreme National Park in Cappadocia, an open air museum and another popular UNESCO World Heritage in Turkey with volcanic landscape sculpted by erosion forming a succession of mountain ridges, valleys and pinnacles known as “fairy chimneys”.

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First an important Byzantine monastic settlement that housed some 20 monks, then a pilgrimage site from the 17th century, the cluster of rock-cut churches, chapels and monasteries.  

 Lonely Planet 

The distance from Pamukkale to Cappadocia is a significant 530km, equivalent to 9 hours of drive. Daily direct buses are available between these cities however the journey will drain you out physically and mentally. Spending a night in Konya, a city in the Central Anatolia between Pamukkale and Cappadocia like what we did is advisable. 

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The location of Göreme was first settled back in the Roman period. Christianity was then the prevailing religion in the region, which is evident from many rock churches that can still be seen today.

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Göreme Museum Nunnery

There are eleven refectories within the Museum, with rock-cut churches tables and benches. Each is associated with a church. Most of the churches in Göreme Open Air Museum belong to the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries where Christians lived, worked and worshipped. What surprise me is the fact that no stone-craved cross is spotted even though cave churches are concentrated in this area.  

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The refectory

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Rock cut chapel facade

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Interior of these caves are covered with beautiful frescoes whose colours still retain all their original freshness. No photo of the fresco was taken because apparently it was strictly prohibited. However you can read its details, see some photos and name of churches HERE if you are interested.

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Sun rays making the ash and lava look like huge gold nuggets. If you think the photos are awesome, wait till you see it with your naked eyes. 

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It was pretty gloomy and cloudy on December. Not forgetting the cold breeze too. We were pretty lucky that it was not raining or else it would be slippery climbing up these caves and we would not be able to have clear view from of the scenery at all. 

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There will be a part 2 post on Cappadocia (hopefully soon!) because this place has too much to see! And not forgetting my stay at cave hotel too! =)

Hope you enjoy reading the post!

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Entrance Fee : 15 TL ($8 or €6)

Admission : Open 08:00 - 17:00 daily